Friday, June 13, 2008

Jottum

There is a quality to the children's clothes that Jottum makes that I absolutely love. I think they are romantic and otherworldly. They remind you of childhood's past. I do not like modern styles on childen or clothes that are trendy and garish. No Hannah Montana, no baby Phat, no glitter. What I love is well made clothes with a sense of nostalgia. I am enjoying the early years when I can still dress them. Heavens knows what they are going to insist on wearing when they are older.

Here is the bio on Jottum's designer from her webpage:

The designer Anky Groothof

ProfileI am a mother of 6 children ranging in age from 15 to 28. I am married to actor/theatre producer Frank Groothof. Since my childhood, I have enjoying working with textiles, especially clothing. I have always been fascinated by the fact that by taking something as simple as a piece of fabric and making an item of clothing it is possible to create a complete new world as an extension of your imagination. My father was a furniture maker and when the upholsterer came by to upholster the newly made chairs, he gave me all the remnants that his daughter, the curtain seamstress, had saved for me. And because at the time there was little money to buy what you needed or wanted, I developed a keen eye for the potential of what was available. Like turning my uncle’s old chalk stripe suit into a trendy dress. This proved a fertile breeding ground for developing my creativity. Besides clothing, I’ve also designed costumes for theatre productions, but my true passion lies in making clothing collections for children. Which is what I have been doing for Jottum since 1996.

CharacterA romantic, a perfectionist, always seeking harmony, in relationships, in form, in colour and model, in light and mood. Finds it difficult to make concessions in this respect.Always tries to find the right balance. Can be very unhappy when it eludes me. People say that I want to make the world more beautiful by the way I dress, for example (people often think that I’m on my way to a party). Personally, I’m not conscious of my motives, it’s simply the clothes I like to work in. For me, it’s just the human function that clothes can have, it not only expresses your personality, your origins, your state of mind, your position or the task that you are facing at a given moment, but in particular the atmosphere that you want to have around you in order to support the mood that you’re in. What is more, with something as relatively attainable as clothing in which taste, colour, form, fantasy, personality and culture are reflected, you can add something to your environment. As far as that is concerned I often regard what I see on the street in the Netherlands as very ugly. It is fascinating to then see how creative people dare to be, perhaps precisely as a result of a lack of money, fantasy and good taste. It need not necessarily be expensive to make something of your clothes. Just look at other cultures, the rich embroidery, clothes made from all kinds of fabric remnants, beads, ribbons, etc. The love and attention reflected by it, the pride with which it is worn. This is also an important point of departure in my designs. To make a child feel proud and happy about the clothing he or she is wearing and made from materials that feel good, in which pretty details have been incorporated and that reflect the maker’s love for the child and the profession.

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